Coin Grading Made Simple

Grade Your Collectible Coins in 3 Easy Steps

The primary purpose of grading a coin is to determine the coin's market value. Ascertaining a coin's value is dependent on how well the coin was struck initially, the coin's a level of preservation, and how much wear and damage the coin has sustained. For most practical purposes, especially for beginners, we're going to concentrate on how to evaluate the amount of wear the coin has, and where it fits on the 70-point scale.

The 70-Point Coin Grading Scale

When numismatists grade coins, they are assigned a numeric value on the Sheldon Scale. The Sheldon Scale ranges from a grade of Poor (P-1) to Perfect Mint State (MS-70). Originally coins were graded using adjectives to describe the condition of the coin (Good, Fair, Excellent, Etc.). Unfortunately, coin collectors and coin dealers had differing interpretations of what each one of these words meant.

Numismatists assign grades at key points on this seventy point scale, with the most commonly used numeric points used along with the original adjective grade. The most common coin grades are as follows:

(P-1) Poor - Barely identifiable and possibly damaged; must have a date and mint mark if used, otherwise pretty thrashed.

(FR-2) Fair - Worn almost smooth but lacking the damage a coin graded Poor usually has. Enough detail must remain to identify the coin

(G-4) Good - Heavily worn such that inscriptions merge into the rims in places; major details are mostly obliterated.

(VG-8) Very Good- Very worn, but all major design elements are evident, albeit faint. Little if any central detail remains.

(F-12) Fine - Very worn, but wear is even, and overall design elements stand out boldly. Almost fully-separated rims from the field.

(VF-20) Very Fine - Moderately worn, with some finer details persisting. All letters of LIBERTY or the motto are readable. The rim's on both sides of the coin are full and separated from the field.

(EF-40) Extremely Fine - Lightly worn; all devices are clear, significant devices are bold. Finer detail is bold and clear but may show some evidence of light wear.

(AU-50) About Uncirculated - Slight traces of wear on high points of the coin's design; may have contact marks and eye appeal should be acceptable.

(AU-58) Very Choice About Uncirculated - Slightest hints of wear marks, no significant contact marks, almost full mint luster, and positive eye appeal.

(MS-60) Mint State Basal - Strictly uncirculated; no evidence of wear on the highest points of the coin but, an ugly coin with subdued luster, noticeable contact marks, hairlines, etc.

(MS-63) Mint State Acceptable - Uncirculated, but with contact marks and nicks, slightly impaired luster, fundamentally appealing appearance. The strike is average to weak.

(MS-70) Mint State Perfect - The perfect coin. There are no microscopic flaws visible under 8x magnification; the strike is sharp, and the coin is perfectly centered on a perfect planchet. Bright, full, original luster and outstanding eye appeal that is rarely seen on a coin.

The Three Coin-Grading Buckets

The most misunderstood aspect of coin grading, from the newcomer perspective, is how the grading scale works. Think of it as having three "buckets." The first bucket is for circulated coins; the second bucket is for About Uncirculated (AU) coins, and the third bucket is for Uncirculated (Mint State, or MS) coins.

The MS scale (from MS-60 to MS-70) isn't just a continuation of the previous scale of AU coins. It is an entirely separate mini-scale of 11 grades that begins with the "basal state" MS-60 Uncirculated coin. This is an ugly, bag-marked, no-luster dog but it is technically Uncirculated. By comparison, the AU-58 coin beneath it has attractive eye appeal and nearly full luster. The reason a coin that grades an AU-58 is because it looks much nicer than a coin that grades MS-60. Additionally, they are actually in separate "buckets" of the grading scale.

Likewise, the AU portion of the scale starts at 50 and runs through 59. The AU-50 coin might never have circulated in commerce, but because it has scuff marks, has been through several coin-counting machines, and has been handled a small amount, it is no longer in Mint State. So we put it in the AU bucket and give it the bottom grade of AU-50 if it's ugly, and AU-58 if it's not. This is oversimplifying a little, but it demystifies why the grading scale seems to go from "appealing coins" to "ugly coins" and then back to "appealing."

How to Grade Circulated Coins

The third bucket is the range of circulated grades, from P-1 to EF-49 (although EF-45 is the highest circulated grade you'll probably see being used.) Most beginners looking for grading help have circulated coins and fortunately circulated coins are the easiest for the novice to grade. It helps to have a Mint State specimen of the coin type under consideration to make comparisons to, but this isn't a requirement.

Step 1

First of all, you'll need to have an excellent light source, such as a 100 watt bulb in a lamp close to where you are sitting. Secondly, you'll need a decent magnifier, preferably something that magnifies about 5 to 8 times (expressed as 5x to 8x). Anything stronger than 8x isn't usually used in coin grading, and anything lower than 5x is too weak to see important details and small damage marks.

Step 2

Determine which "bucket" your coin fits into. Is it absolutely Uncirculated (Mint State)? Does it have only the slightest hints of wear on the high points (About Uncirculated)? Or does it fall in the most common bucket, the Circulated bucket?

Step 3

Compare your coin to the scale shown above to determine where it fits on the scale. Keep in mind that the numbers are not proportional; in other words, the amount of detail loss between EF-40 and EF-20 is not the same as that which is lost between MS-60 and EF-40 (remember, they're in different buckets.) In fact, the coin that grades EF-40 has lost only about 5% to 10% of its detail, but the coin that grades F-20 has lost about 60%. Use the written descriptions to place your coin as best you can. If you want more precise grading, I recommend "The Official ANA Grading Standards" book, which breaks the grades out for every major U.S. coin type, along with photos to help you determine the correct grade.

Now that you know the grade of your coins you will be able to determine your coins' value.